Scientists Say: Potential energy

Potential energy (noun, “Po-TEN-shul EN-ur-gee”)

The energy an object has due to its position or condition. When a ball is at the top of a ramp, it has potential energy — the energy involved in rolling down again.

In a sentence

Right before you shoot an arrow out of a bow, the arrow has a lot of potential energy.

Power Words

(for more about Power Words, click here)

potential energy  The energy held by an object due not to its motion but instead to its position or condition (such as being held motionless by an brake or suspended from a wire). Examples of objects possessing this type of energy include a compressed spring, a mass of snow on a hillside (think of its capacity to create an avalanche) and a slab of meat hanging from a hook in a refrigerated locker.